Last week, Lauren Hill of Mount St. Joseph University courageously took the floor for her first college game, refusing to let an inoperable brain tumor keep her from achieving her dream – and WNBA stars Elena Delle Donne and Tamika Catchings were on hand to lend their support.

Stars-Lynx Preview

By ALAN FERGUSONPosted Jul 02 2014 1:41PM

It's unclear if the Minnesota Lynx will get one of their top players back in time to face a team riding one of the longest road win streaks in franchise history.

If she returns, Seimone Augustus could help Minnesota extend its recent dominance of the San Antonio Stars, who haven't lost on the road since visiting the Target Center more than a month ago.

Augustus sat out a 74-69 home win over Seattle on Sunday because of bursitis in her left knee. The Lynx's second-leading scorer (17.2 points per game) had a season-low five on 2-of-10 shooting in an 81-71 road loss to the Storm on Friday.

The injury also caused her to miss a 92-79 loss in Phoenix on June 18. She was held out of Tuesday's practice, but coach Cheryl Reeve indicated the team was being cautious.

"We want to make sure when she comes back, she's fully healthy," Reeve said. "We don't want to do a couple days at a time then she's out again. We want to get her fully healthy. We're pretty certain with what's going on with her knee."

Janel McCarville helped make up for Augustus' absence Sunday with a season-high 22 points. Maya Moore was held to 14 - nearly nine below her team-leading average - and shot 4 for 12.

Moore, though, has played a major role in Minnesota (12-5) winning both meetings with the Stars (9-8) this season. She had 25 points on 12-of-19 shooting in an 87-79 victory in San Antonio on June 1, and her 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists led the Lynx to an 88-72 home win May 30.

The Stars haven't lost on the road since that defeat, with the current five-game win streak away from home being their longest since a franchise-record, seven-game run in 2012.

However, they've lost 10 in a row in Minnesota, including two in the 2011 playoffs, and six straight overall to the Lynx.

The Stars are allowing an average of 72.4 points during their road streak - 6.1 fewer than their season mark - and 68.3 in the past three wins.

"There is no secret," coach Dan Hughes said. "We have had a couple of good defensive games in a row and that helps you win on the road, but I don't know, if I had the secret, I would feel like I'm smart."

Hughes' club will try to match a season-high, three-game overall win streak from June 14-22.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Whalen, Lynx beat Stars 91-84

Posted Jul 03 2014 11:56PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) With the Minnesota Lynx missing one of their three Olympians, Monica Wright made sure they never missed a beat.

Wright hit two early 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 17 points as the Lynx beat the San Antonio Stars 91-84 on Thursday night.

Seimone Augustus missed her second straight game with bursitis in her left knee, so Wright stepped into the starting lineup and started shooting. She scored Minnesota's first six points on two 3s, then hit another 3 before the first quarter ended.

Augustus' two Olympic teammates eventually picked up some of the slack, as Lindsay Whalen scored 22 points and Maya Moore added 21. But Wright said she was looking to score early to help fill the void left by Augustus' absence.

''That plays a part in it. You can kind of pick and choose your pockets to score,'' Wright said. ''With the players that we have, it can be anybody on any night.''

Besides, as San Antonio coach Dan Hughes pointed out, Wright is no slouch herself. She was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft for a reason.

''She's a good player, and her coming off the bench is a luxury most of us don't have,'' Hughes said. ''You pay a lot of attention to Whalen, you pay a lot of attention to Maya, and (Wright) is a good player. Even if Augustus is gone, they still have good players.''

Wright missed the first 10 games while recovering from offseason knee surgery and had scored a total of 18 points in seven games before her breakout game Thursday.

''I've been impressed with how quickly she's gotten re-acclimated,'' Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. ''I'm just really happy with Monnie's fortitude to get through all that and be really helpful to our team right away.''

Six Stars scored in double figures, led by rookie Kayla McBride with 17.

The Lynx overcame a 35-30 deficit with a 20-1 run that spanned halftime, holding San Antonio scoreless for the final 4 minutes of the first half. Tan White beat the halftime buzzer with a long 3-pointer that put Minnesota on top 41-35.

Wright scored four quick points early in the third as the Lynx opened a 50-36 cushion. The Stars were able to cut the deficit to three points early in the fourth, but Minnesota went 10-for-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to hold on.

''We hung, but we just couldn'tt quite get over the top,'' Hughes said. ''Theyre a good team when theyre able to play with the lead that much.''

The Lynx have won four of their last five and are 3-0 against the Stars this season.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited